Morning State Sports Briefs: Pack may use three kick returners vs. Falcons

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ATLANTA - The Green Bay Packers might use three kickoff returners tomorrow night in their NFC divisional playoff game at Atlanta.

Special teams’ coach Shawn Slocum says Pat Lee and rookies James Starks and Sam Shields are all effective returners. And they could all get a chance against the Falcons. Former Packer Will Blackmon was the last Green Bay player to score a touchdown on special teams. Slocum says he’d love to see one of his kickoff returners score – but it’s more important to get the ball beyond the 20-yard line to give the Packer offense a shorter field. Also, the coaches say defensive end Cullen Jenkins is moving better than he did last week – and he should do better against Atlanta. Jenkins had an uneventful return last week at Philadelphia, after missing four games with a calf injury. Meanwhile, Atlanta nickel back Brian Williams missed practice yesterday with a knee injury. He could be replaced by second-year pro Christopher Owens.

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Brett Favre’s sister is free on bond, after being arrested in a meth-amphetamine bust in Mississippi. 34-year-old Brandi Favre was one of five people apprehended in a raid this week at a Diamondhead condo where the drug was allegedly being made. She’s charged with manufacturing meth-amphetamines and generating hazardous waste.

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Milwaukee Bucks’ center Andrew Bogut says he’ll try to play tonight at Philadelphia, despite hurting his upper back on Wednesday night. He got hurt while going up for a rebound in the Bucks’ seven-point home loss to San Antonio. Also, Bogut continues to fight a viral infection he’s had for almost a month. He says it’s apparently on its “last legs,” but he still needs to take a lot more medication for it. But the seven-foot Bogut is trying to play through his ailments. He had 15 points and 14 rebounds against the Spurs. Meanwhile, Bucks’ point guard Brandon Jennings removed a walking boot and put up some shots for the first time since he broke his left foot in December. Jennings had surgery December 20th, and he could return in a couple weeks if all goes well. The Bucks are 4-7 without Jennings in the lineup – and they’re 14-22 overall. Tonight, they’ll play a Philadelphia team that’s 15-23. Milwaukee power forward Drew Gooden is expected to play, after missing nine games with a foot injury. He returned Wednesday night against San Antonio, and scored eight points in 10 minutes.

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The UW-Milwaukee men’s basketball team returned to .500 last night with an 87-75 home victory over Illinois-Chicago. The Panthers shot 54-percent from the floor as they improved to 9-9 overall, and 4-3 in Horizon League play. UWM never trailed. They led by seven at the half, and as many as 23 before Illinois-Chicago made a late run. Milwaukee made 23-of-34 free throws, while the Flames only went 9-of-12 from the line. Tony Meier led the Panthers with 22 points. Robo Kreps had 19 for Illinois-Chicago, which fell to 0-6 in the conference and 5-13 overall. Milwaukee will host Loyola tomorrow.

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Three seniors led the way, as the University of Wisconsin women topped Purdue 60-46 in Madison last night. Alyssa Karel, Tara Steinbauer, and Lin Zastrow combined for 51 points and 24 rebounds. Zastrow led the Badgers with 21 points and a game-high 11 boards. Purdue only shot 28-percent in the first half, as Wisconsin went up by nine. The Boilermakers committed 19 turnovers, and the Badgers scored 22 points off those mistakes. Courtney Moses had 14 points for Purdue, which fell to 2-3 in the Big Ten and 11-6 overall. The Badgers improved to 4-1 in the conference and 9-8 overall. They’ll play at Michigan on Sunday.

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A high school junior from Virginia has become the first member of the Marquette men’s recruiting class of 2012. Jamal Ferguson of Maury High School has given his verbal commitment to play for the Golden Eagles. He said he likes Coach Buzz Williams, because he pushes his players to be as good as they can be. The 6-5 Ferguson is ranked 63rd on ESPN’s “Top 100” list. He’s averaging almost 18 points a game this season with eight rebounds, two steals, and a blocked shot. Ferguson expects to be a shooting guard or a small forward at Marquette.

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The PGA’s Sony Open is expected to begin today after the first round was rained out yesterday in Honolulu. Three Wisconsin players are in the field – Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly of Madison, and Pewaukee native Mark Wilson.

SCORES

Men's college basketball...

Quincy 90, UW-Parkside 79

Concordia-Mequon 71, Maranatha Baptist 55

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In women’s college basketball…

Quincy 72, UW-Parkside 61

Wisconsin Lutheran 89, Maranatha Baptist 52

Edgewood College 55, Lakeland 41

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Wisconsin boys' high school basketball...

Auburndale 58, Rib Lake 51

Beloit Memorial 66, Sun Prairie 65

Bonduel 58, Shiocton 52

Colby 64, Augusta 55

Colfax 60, St. Croix Central 33

Eau Claire Regis 61, Altoona 42

Elk Mound 55, Spring Valley 42

Elmwood 60, Boyceville 56

Ewen-Trout Creek, Mich. 61, Hurley 58

Fall Creek 57, Stanley-Boyd 51

Florence 60, Elcho 49

Gilman 71, Granton 20

Howards Grove 76, Stockbridge 19

Ironwood, Mich. 65, South Shore 40

Kenosha St. Joseph 44, Somers Shoreland Lutheran 35

Kiel 76, Waupun 63

Ladysmith 61, Hayward 57

Laona 54, Goodman 49

Madison Memorial 79, Madison East 61

Marinette 65, Hortonville 55

New Holstein 62, Plymouth 59

Ozaukee 64, Sheboygan Lutheran 55

Platteville 49, Dodgeville 44

Prairie du Chien 45, River Valley 36

Rosholt 40, Almond-Bancroft 36

Seymour 62, Denmark 35

Stratford 52, Abbotsford 48

Thorp 43, Chippewa Falls McDonell 42

Three Lakes 50, Wabeno 29

Verona 65, Janesville Craig 56

Wausau Newman 50, Chequamegon 43

West De Pere 37, New London 31

Wittenberg-Birnamwood 49, Manawa 20

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Girls' high school basketball...

Algoma 67, Gibraltar 14

Alma-Pepin 76, Eau Claire Immanuel Lutheran 50

Baldwin-Woodville 45, Durand 37

Barneveld 53, Albany 38

Barron 48, Maple Northwestern 35

Belleville 63, Wisconsin Heights 42

Beloit Turner 53, Walworth Big Foot 36

Black Hawk 54, Monticello 44

Bloomer 73, Spooner 46

Cambridge 45, Marshall 34

Cashton 56, Bangor 36

Clear Lake 52, Unity 49

Crivitz 55, Marinette St. Thomas Aquinas 44

Deerfield 68, Madison Abundant Life 33

Edgerton 73, Evansville 42

Eleva-Strum 53, Gilmanton 26

Ellsworth 45, Amery 38

Fall River 42, Dodgeland 29

Freedom 60, Waupaca 37

Gillett 51, Wausaukee 39

Green Bay NEW Lutheran 38, Sevastopol 27

Highland 51, Potosi 27

Independence 60, Cochrane-Fountain City 37

Juda 74, Pecatonica 51

Kewaunee 65, Sturgeon Bay 41

Kickapoo 41, Wauzeka 33

Ladysmith 62, Cumberland 20

Lake Country Lutheran 42, Racine Lutheran 28

Lake Mills 56, Watertown Luther Prep 34

Lena 43, Coleman 37

Lodi 41, Poynette 38

Markesan 52, Pardeeville 35

Mercer 42, Wakefield-Marenisco, Mich. 20

Montello 44, Green Lake 32

New Glarus 88, Waterloo 30

New Richmond 43, Prescott 35

Oconto 49, Southern Door 34

Oconto Falls 49, Clintonville 41

Onalaska 60, Viroqua 23

Onalaska Luther 51, Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau 31

Pioneer Westfield 30, Omro 21

Randolph 44, Cambria-Friesland 23

Rio 48, Williams Bay 28

River Ridge 61, Cassville 34

Royall 42, Wonewoc-Center 26

Seneca 61, North Crawford 24

Somers Shoreland Lutheran 49, Kenosha St. Joseph 35

St. Croix Falls 60, Cameron 49

Wabeno 32, Suring 24

West Salem 46, Arcadia 26

Westby 64, Black River Falls 33

Weston 46, Ithaca 37

Whitehall 50, Alma Center Lincoln 38

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